Asgard welcomed another golden day after the victory of yet another uninteresting battle. Loki enchanted his bedroom walls as the cheers from his brother that could be heard all over the Nine Realms muted. He did not want to lose his hearing. He continued reading some folklore of another foreign land.

"Interesting."

Loki was not alarmed at all by the blue box that began to appear in his room. He had seen this happen many times before when he was a child. His mother had told him that perhaps it was his guardian angel. But this angel came so often, that as Loki grew up, this imaginary friend became all too real for him. He came with a different face sometimes, but that did not matter. At least he still had a friend.

"You actually came back." Loki closed the book, discarding it on his desk.

"You seem more surprised and less interested in me every time I come." He looked different this time. He had more hair and had gotten rid of the leather. There was a sparkle in his eyes filled of adventure that Loki envied.

"The Doctor always lies..." Loki chanted teasingly.

"I come back a different person, well...face, more the less. Wish I was ginger, though." He tugged at a piece of hair, pulling it between his eyebrows. His frown seemed to try to will it to change color, but that did not work. He never gets to choose. "What do you think?" He held out his hands as if wanting approval of a prom dress.

"Better than the last two." Loki answered dryly.

"What?" His arms dropped. "Like it was a bad phase? I'm hurt, Loki." The Doctor pouted, then grabbed a book from the shelf. "Oh, I see you haven't read the books I sent you last week. I love J. K. Rowling."

"Not my kind of literature. Perhaps when I was a toddler I might have enjoyed them. But I have learned the real art of magic. It's not something that can be taught by a wooden stick in a Midgardian school."

"Yes, but everybody loves magic!"

"Didn't humans burn each other at the stake for witchcraft?"

"Uh...y-yes...yes they did. Sorry." The Doctor said quietly.

Loki hated seeing the Doctor so sad. He figured living for as long as Time Lords usually do, he has seen a lot. And he was very young for a Time Lord.

"No, I'm sorry. Look, just, put it back on the shelf, I'll get to it later."

"Right. Oh! Shakespeare!" The Doctor grabbed another book and started flipping through the pages. He did not notice Loki staring at him.

"What's wrong, Loki?" The Doctor did notice the silence and the new attitude coming from his lonely friend.

"Am I the only one you visit?"

"What? No! I visit other people loads of times." He went back down to the book.

"As often as I?"

The Doctor took his glasses off and sighed. "You're very special, Loki. That's all I can say."

Loki laughed in disbelief. "Special? You're crazier than I thought. I have nothing..."

"You have a beautiful home. A family that loves you-"

"Clearly you haven't seen Father on a bad day-"

"Your destiny can be whatever you want. Even I don't know what that is. Which is strange because I usually know everything."

Loki raised a brow.

"Ok, almost everything. What I'm saying is...in all of time and space, I have never met someone who wasn't important. Loki, you cut yourself short. You have such untapped potential. Don't be ashamed of who you are. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Promise me that?"

"There you go lecturing me again like a child." Loki laughs, shaking it off.

"Loki, look at me."

Loki looked and saw the Doctor's determination in his face.

"I will never abandon you, I will always fight for you, I will always do right by you, this I swear."

Loki started getting emotional. "Stop being dramatic. Am I really worth all of that?"

"And so much more." The Doctor smiled, shaking his head.

Loki scoffed. "Shut-up." With a wave of his hand, the enchantment of silence fell and the castle came alive with the feast congratulating his brother's newest achievements. "Do you hear that? They adore him...worship him... And me?" Loki spat. "I'm just a jester for entertainment. Someone to compare to and make fun of because I'm not strong enough..."

"You have other talents. You are brilliant! You know hundreds of different languages, you've read the entire Asgardian library your mother keeps expanding for you, well, minus my personal library I give to you..."

"I'm sorry, it's just. Sometimes I hate being different."

"That's never a bad thing. Being different makes you Loki, not Thor, Jr. or Odin #2. We've talked about this so many times."

"I would never want to be them...just like them."

"And what's that?"

"Accepted."

"Thor loves you more than you realize."

"And never doubt that I love Thor more dearly than anyone. He's my brother. I just...feel isolated. I get bored."

"Then, my offer still stands. Come with me. Let me show you the worlds you've only read about and heard my stories from. Let me show you Midgard and all of its glory. Let me show you the stars. Please. I hate traveling alone."

Loki stared at the TARDIS, listening to the feasting, then looked at the Doctor.

"It's been a long time since I've shared the universe with someone."

Loki figured it would not do any harm since with time travel they could come right back to this point in time. Not that anyone would notice. He always stayed cooped up in here anyway.

"When do we start?" Loki smirked.

The Doctor laughed. "Whenever and wherever you like. All of time and space."

"I don't even know where to start. You pick. I insist. All of time and space."

"How about The Library?"

"I'm sorry? Right down the hall?"

"Come on. The one I'm taking you to is much bigger than that."

"Bigger on the inside?" Loki joked as he stepped into the TARDIS. "She really is something."

"Yes, she is...Now, Allons-y to The Library!"

The TARDIS whirled and hummed, shaking and spinning around. Loki grabbed onto the railing, looking at the Doctor like he was crazy.

"Haven't you had years of practice driving this thing?!"

"Where's the fun in following directions when you can do it your own way?!"

They finally landed abruptly onto their destination, smoke billowing from the controls.

"Does that normally happen?" Loki asked concerned.

"Oh, she's fine. Just blowing off steam. Come on then. Let's go to the library and check out the-" His eyes widened.

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Loki stepped outside, shutting the door of the TARDIS.

"Nothing! It's just tripled in size since the last time I was here! Every piece of text ever written in the entire universe has been copied here into this super library that even puts mine to shame. Come on then!"

Loki was in awe at the vast expanse of books. He has never seen anything so incredible in his life.

But something was missing.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"If this is a library, in a sense, then where is everyone? Is it not open for visitors?"

"Welllll...yes, you're right. Um...last time I was here, there was a bit of a fiasco with some tiny monsters called the Vashta Nerada that haunted every shadow here, and well, it kinda hurt the business. Many people just download ebooks, which I don't find as enjoyable."

"I despise that. It's not the same as feeling the story, the textured age of the pages, that oddly pleasant smell. You really feel like you're immersing yourself into another world. You can forget about everything." Loki drifted off into thought.

"Would you want to take every bit of this home with you?" The Doctor smiled mischievously.

"Are you out of your mind? We couldn't possibly-"

"Hang on!" The Doctor runs back into the TARDIS, and starts throwing things around left and right trying to find what he needed. "Bingo!" He trips and falls then steps outside a little winded. "Here."

"A journal?" Loki flips through it. "It's empty."

"I've been meaning to give this to you for your 1000th birthday, but I think this is the perfect time for you to have it. It's Time Lord technology...each page can hold millions of words, practically a whole series of books. I hate to say it's like one of those iPod thingies humans use in their 21st century, but I think this gives it more feeling."

Loki fought back tears. "I don't know what to say." He smiled the most genuine smile the Doctor had seen since he was 649 years old, still just a boy.

"You're welcome, Loki. Now use that wonderful magic of yours and just copy and paste. Sorry, I just visited Earth not too long ago, and I am all caught up on their 21st century tech lingo."

Loki laughed. "Alright. Shall we?"

The Doctor snapped his fingers, the TARDIS door locking shut, and they spent no more than seven hours going through every section of the library. Loki was in his element. He was basically stealing texts no other Asgardian had ever read before, some he had only heard legends of. He had begged his mother for those, but no matter how many scouts she sent out to find what her son wanted, they could not find them all.

"So many stories...so many things to discover..."

"Your mind is a beautiful thing, Loki." The Doctor admired.

"I'm sorry?" Loki's heart skipped a beat.

"It's willing to learn. I've always said books are the most powerful weapon in the world because it feeds the mind. It gives us hope and wonder and ideas and just, ah! I will say, the ones written by humans are my favorite. I have never met another species so creative and thoughtful. They pour out their heart and soul into pages and you can feel it right along with them!"

"Ok, I get it. I will read this Harry Potter."

"You'll be surprised. I just read book seven. I cried."

"Well, then, perhaps I should read it then. I've never seen you cry." Loki smiled.

The Doctor sighed. "You will never want to..."

The smile vanished. "Oh...I'm-"

"No no no no no, Loki. Don't ever apologize. It's the burden of living for as long as I have and traveling. You see everything."

"Better than being stuck in Asgard as Thor's nanny."

They both laughed at that.

"Remember when you were little, and you dumped the entire concentration of a vineyard into his shampoo?" The Doctor said between bouts of laughter.

"His hair smelt like grapes for weeks!" Loki loved playing tricks on Thor. He missed those days when they were both so innocent. Then Father started training them more vigorously, and since Thor was older, he was pushed harder. Loki hated the training because he was not near as strong as Thor. He never wanted to be king, anyway. He just wanted to be Thor's equal as far as respect and love.

"I'm starving!" The Doctor rubbed his stomach.

"Well, we better hurry. Knowing Thor alone can eat an entire cow by himself so quickly, I am afraid there won't be much left."

The TARDIS returned them back into Loki's room in Asgard. A thunderous knock on the door greeted them.

"Brother? Come feast with us!" Thor barged in unannounced and paused at the blue box that blocked his path. He carefully stepped around it, careful not to tip it over.

"By Odin's beard! Thor! You're huge!" The Doctor marveled at the young god's strength.

"Are you the Doctor?" Thor was confused.

"Yes, you oaf, I told you he changes faces every now and then." Loki explained, rather annoyed at his dumb brother.

"I have not seen you in so long!" He picked the Doctor up with ease, crushing him into his big bear hugs. "How are you travels?"

"Unpredictable as ever! I've missed you boys, and wanted to come say hi."

"I will have the finest ale brought out for our special guest, the Doctor! Come Brother!"

They feasted and drank and laughed and told stories of the past years since they had last seen each other until the moon was beginning to fall from the sky. The night was almost over.

"Doctor! You must come visit us again soon. Farewell, my friend!" Thor gave one last hug and stumbled off to his bedroom.

"Yes, of course!" The Doctor turned and looked at Loki. "I'm so glad we don't drink like that. One glass is more than enough for me."

"Yet another reason why I'm glad I'm not like him. Although he is a mighty warrior."

"That he is."

A silence loomed between them as they walked down the halls to Loki's bedroom. Loki could not handle it anymore.

"Must you leave me again? Why can't you stay? Nothing is tying you down. Father would not mind and we have more than enough room." Loki stopped himself. He was so embarrassed. He's never begged like that since he was a child.

"I wish I could. But I must be off. Can't say why. I just have this feeling."

Loki was hurt, but hid his expression. "Safe travels. May Heimdall watch over you."

"Thank-you Loki. And take care of yourself. I'll be back."

As the TARDIS disappeared, Loki collapsed onto his bed. His stomach ached from the food and his heart ached from the pain of losing his friend...again.

"You think you're so impressive." A little Loki rolls his eyes.

"I am so impressive!" The Doctor raised his voice, slightly offended.

"Before I go, I want you to know that you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I!"

"Doctor?" The TARDIS shuts and Loki screams for his friend to come back. He hears an explosion from inside the TARDIS and thinks the world has ended. Young Loki cries himself to sleep that night, and then a note appears on his desk the next morning. It simply said "I will come back...always." The comfort of knowing he had a friend made Loki happy again. For he was a depressed child living in his brother's shadow, never living up to his father's expectations. He longed for the day his friend would come back.

"Soon, I hope." Loki pulls out Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and began to read.